Salineras de Maras: Visiting the Inca Salt Mines

The salt pans of Maras have been used for the past five centuries to mine salt in the Sacred Valley.

A tour of the Sacred Valley is an essential part of your exploration of the Inca Heartland in Peru. Indeed there are many ruins to visit and mountainsides to trek, but one intriguing sight which should not go unnoticed are the ancient salt pans, known as Salineras de Maras. Strategically dug into the mountainside, thousands of shallow pools filled with salt water eventually evaporate and leave behind the crystallized salt, a process that has been practiced for more than 500 years.

Salt Water in the Andes?

You might be wondering how large amounts of salt deposits ended up in the middle of the Andes Mountains. Though the salt pans themselves are man-made, the water that is channeled through them comes from a subterranean natural spring, which is mixed with salt deposits from prehistoric salt lakes. Over millions of years, tectonic plate movement has buried the deposits deep beneath the mountains: the salt is accessible from an underground water flow of brine – a mixture of salt and water – that bubbles up in a natural spring near the small town of Maras.

History of Maras

It’s believed that the salt pans were originally constructed by the Wari civilization, which predates the Inca. However, the Inca saw the economic opportunity in harvesting the salt of Maras and expanded the salt pans further up the mountainside.

The salt crystals are carefully scraped from the sides of the pools as the brine evaporates.

The salt is mined through the evaporation of the brine that is channeled into the pans. When the water evaporates, members of the local communities carefully scrape the salt crystals from the earthen surfaces. When all of the crystals are removed, the pan is filled with the salt water again – a process that has been practiced since before the time of the Inca.

The Significance Today

The local community has exclusive mining rights to the salt pans near Maras.

Today there are over 6,000 salt pans near Maras, and each one is no more than 13 square feet and less than 1 foot deep. Each pan is owned and mined by a local family of the Maras community, and the salt is collected and sold in local shops or nearby towns.

The salt pans are also an interesting attraction for people visiting the Sacred Valley. Travelers can explore the salt pans on a guided tour and walk the narrow salted paths between the terraces for 10 soles (about $3) entrance fee. Afterwards, you can buy some of the Andean salt as a souvenir afterwards.

Plan a visit to Maras during your exploration of the Sacred Valley. Click “GoDiscover” now.

About Author

Katy is no stranger to the life of an international traveler. After graduate school, Kathleen worked in California in the legal field, but later realized that life was calling her in a different direction. After a short time in Peru, she fell in love with the culture, the people, the food, and the way of life. Now Kathleen calls Lima her “home away from home,” although she frequently visits the warm, sunny northern Peru to see friends and surf.